Archives for January, 2017

Israeli far-right's new target: Arab bus drivers

Activists of the far-right Lehava have launched a hate campaign against Arab bus drivers.

TO GO WITH STORY BY BRYAN PEARSON Habib al-Sadr, director general of Iraq's biggest television company, Al-Iraqiya, answers questions during an interview with AFP at his Iraqi Media Network company headquarters in Baghdad's upmarket Al-Karrada suburb, 23 August 2007. Sadr has far-reaching plans to expand his ever-growing media empire -- provided he can outlive the constant threats to his life. All is in place for the launch mid-September at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of a new religious ch

Will Egypt join Iraq in the 'Axis of Resistance'?

Iraq is playing the role of broker to include Egypt in the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran.

A Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) perches on a cherry branch in the village of Studencice April 22, 2009. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic (SLOVENIA ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT) - RTXE94M

Goldfinch trainers seek to spread wings beyond Gaza

Palestinian trainers of singing goldfinches hope to one day take part in international competitions, but have been limited so far because of closed borders.

Carnations and placards are laid on the spot, where Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was killed, during a commemoration to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 19, 2017. The placard reads that: "Long live the brotherhood of people. We will not forget, we will not forgive". REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSW8ZI

How Turkey went back to square one 10 years after murder of Armenian intellectual

On the 10th year anniversary of the murder of prominent Armenian-Turkish intellectual Hrant Dink, Turkey appears further from reconciling with its past.

A bird flies near a torn Syrian national flag in the city of Qamishli, Syria April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2B18P

Talk of Kurdish autonomy still makes Syrians squirm

In Syria, traveling from Damascus to Qamishli can prove complicated, as suspicions about Kurdish aspirations of autonomy persist.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAJX

US pastor in Turkish jail while Gulen dominates talks

Turkey’s prime minister has asked the US president-elect to hand over exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen in the interest of furthering US-Turkey relations even as Ankara continues to hold American pastor Andrew Brunson on terror charges.

The steel structre of Iran's oldest high-rise, the 15-storey Plasco building, is seen after the collapse of the building in downtown Tehran on January 19, 2017.
State television said 200 firefighters had been called to the scene and 38 had already been injured battling the blaze before it fell. / AFP / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranians call for resignation of Tehran mayor over high-rise collapse

The collapse of Iran’s oldest high-rise following a fire leads to calls for the resignation of Tehran’s mayor.

Boards showing the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the Euro against Turkish lira are on display at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2YFYR

Turkey's AKP scrambles to curb economic woes until referendum

Turkey’s government has mobilized public funds to avert a full-blown economic crisis ahead of a critical referendum on transition to a presidential system, expected in early spring.

An Arab Israeli woman sits next to ruins from her dwellings which were demolished by Israeli bulldozers in Umm Al-Hiran, a Bedouin village in Israel's southern Negev Desert January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSW2QT

War of narratives emerges after demolition of Bedouin home

Chair of the Arab Joint List Ayman Odeh preferred launching a narrative war over the deadly incident in Bedouin Umm al-Hiran village, instead of trying to calm spirits in a responsible manner.

A car (L), which Israeli police said was used by an Arab Israeli to ram into a group of policemen, is seen at the scene of the incident in Umm Al-Hiran, a Bedouin village in Israel's southern Negev Desert January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTSW1KM

Israeli Bedouin blame government for recent violence

After an Israeli police officer was killed when a villager ran over him with his car, Israeli Bedouin claim that policemen are carrying out demolitions like military operations.

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault addresses delegates at the opening of the Mideast peace conference in Paris, January 15, 2017.Around 70 countries and international organisations are making a new push for a two-state solution in the Middle East at the conference in Paris. REUTERS/Thomas Samson/POOL - RTSVKTN

Has Israeli left given up on two states?

Israel’s left no longer preaches for coexistence, dialogue or reconciliation, and focuses only on separating the two peoples through unilateral measures.

An Airbus A321 painted in IranAir's livery rests on the tarmac as the company takes delivery of the first new Western jet under an international sanctions deal in Colomiers, near Toulouse, France, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RTX2YHNJ

New planes won't solve Iran's aviation dilemma

Despite its great potential and the imminent influx of new aircraft, Iran's aviation sector is likely to remain anemic unless there is a genuine shift in the business approach.

Palestinian activist Mohammed al-Taluli (top), 25, chants slogans during a protest at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on January 12, 2017, against the Palestinian enclave's ongoing electricity crisis.
The 25-year-old nicknamed Guevara because of his admiration of the Latin American revolutionary has returned to his home despite warnings that Hamas security forces were looking for him due to his role as an organiser of recent protests over severe electricity shortages.
/ AFP / Mohammed A

Gaza's electricity protests are bold sign of dissent

Qatar pledged to donate $12 million to help ease the Gaza Strip's electricity crisis, following a wave of massive protests against Hamas' ineffectual running of the electricity sector in the Strip.

A man browses in a bookshop in downtown Cairo October 13, 2010. Poking fun at everything from the president's almost 30-year rule to the capital's frenetic traffic, satirical books are filling more shelf space in Egypt's bookshops and reflecting the frustrations of a young generation. Limited outlets for political expression, state crackdowns on organized dissent and a growing wealth gap in the Arab world's most populous state are fuelling demand for such literary satire, literary critics say. Picture taken

Why Gazan authors are moving to Egypt

Egypt remains the No. 1 destination for Arab authors in general, and Gazan authors in particular, due to its cultural and scientific stature.

Origami birds hang from a tree in memory of victims of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan last week, in the centre of Sofia, March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Oleg Popov (BULGARIA - Tags: DISASTER SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR2K053

Gaza’s autistic children master art of origami

Parents of children with autism in the Gaza Strip have discovered their kids’ hidden talent to fold papers.

A boy runs near damaged buildings in the rebel held besieged city of Douma, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSWBM4

Egypt’s cross-border psychological support for Syrians

A number of Egyptian psychiatrists have launched an online initiative to help Syrians who are suffering from psychological problems as a result of the ongoing war in their country.